January 27, 2012

dineLA lunch at Cafe Pinot & The Mystery of Chicken Oysters

Posted by the minty under dessert, dtla lunch, food, foodie alert, restaurant reviews, tasting menu | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |
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fried chicken oysters

It’s that time of year again. As part of my whirlwind tour of dineLA restaurants around town, I landed at Cafe Pinot for lunch.

What are chicken oysters, you might ask? Apparently it’s a nub of meat near chicken thighs. When I saw Cafe Pinot was offering fried chicken oysters as part of their dineLA menu, I was intrigued but didn’t know exactly what it was. The word “oysters” made me think of some other kinds of oysters. But happily it wasn’t those er, delicate parts.

There’s something about fried chicken that’s always good but eating the fried chicken oysters made the adventurous foodie in me very happy.

lobster bisque

tuna tonnato

The other choices are the lobster bisque and tuna tonnato for the first course. The lobster bisque was a work of art. It was almost too pretty to disrupt the Jackson Pollack-looking surface.

And the tuna was very fresh. I liked the capers and aioli it was served with.

flat iron steak

The steak looked so prominent and was quite perfect for the business lunch crowd at Cafe Pinot. It was jazzed up with candied Moroccan olives and a vadouvan goat cheese mousse. It was perfectly cooked at medium rare.

Japanese Hokkaido scallops

I chose the Japanese Hokkaido scallops. And like classic Japanese block prints, this was a work of art. The thinly shaved mushrooms, the sprinkle of spice, the garlic veloute worked wonderfully with the delicate scallops.

The other choice is the carrot braised pork. We were told it is a shredded pork with lentils and a ginger emulsion.

creme fraiche panna cotta

red currant brioche bread pudding

For dessert, I nabbed the red currant brioche bread pudding. The pudding was very light and flaky and came with vanilla whipped creme fraiche. I liked that it came with salted caramel as well. I also had a taste of the creme fraiche panna cotta. Loved the thinly sliced crab apples on top.

The other dessert choice is ricotta fritters which sounded awesome with a tangerine sauce. The ricotta is even house made.

I was trying to decide which was the best seat at Cafe Pinot. The patio overlooks the Central Library and you see all walks of life. There is another outdoors patio that is more intimate off to the side. It’s almost like a balcony and seemed really romantic and secluded.

Cafe Pinot hasn’t announced their new executive chef yet but if you go for dineLA or any other time, you just might see a certain quirky mustachioed chef. He comes from a fine dining background and it really shows in the artistry of the plating and elegance of the food.

Cafe Pinot

700 West 5th Street
Los Angeles, CA 90017
(213) 239-6500

** previous Cafe Pinot meal

 

January 26, 2012

New Cocktails at Ray’s & Stark Bar

Posted by the minty under alcohol education, booze, cocktalian, food, foodie alert, great cocktails, hot bartenders, restaurant reviews | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |
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Stark Bar

Ray’s and Stark Bar recently launched their new Winter cocktails. I was recently invited to check some of them out. Please note the pictured photos do not represent full-sized cocktails. These were taster samples.

G-Funk Era

Bar Smith and Sommelier Paul Sanguinetti has made a gin by infusing two different vodkas (potato and grain vodkas) with garden botanicals including lemon verbena. These herbs are grown on the premises.

Stark Gin

Stark Gin

The G-Funk Era made with the housemade gin, Fever Tree tonic, bitters and grapefruit peel can easily be the best gin and tonic I’ve ever had. Paul better start distilling by the batch because this is a sure to be a best seller.

Mike's Medicine

Max's Daiquiri

Singers Vacation

There are at least three cocktails named for regulars. First we have Mike’s Medicine (Tariquet Armagnac, Licor 43, lime, egg white).  I had a laugh about this drink because I know Mike and have actually been to a party where he used Licor 43 in quite a few cocktails. This drink was very balanced. I appreciated the refined armagnac and the lightness of the lime and egg white. It’s pretty much a sour on the rocks or rather, one large rock. Check out Mike’s new Mixology site, mxlgy.

For Max’s Daiquiri (dark rum, Fernet Branca, simple syrup, lime), it was love at first sip. “I’m really into amaro right now”  For someone like me who’s into bitters (plus tinctures and infusions), amaro, beautiful ice, this drink is the perfect craft cocktail. Simple and bold. But if you don’t have tastebuds of steel as a friend would say, I don’t recommend this cocktail if you like girlie drinks. It’s for those who love bitter flavors.

Singers Vacation (Scotch, Benedictine, honey, Japanese green citron tea, Stark housemade lemon verbena bitters) on the other hand represents the other side of craft cocktails. I thought this hot drink would be perfect for everyone. It was my favorite of the three hot drinks on the menu now.

Bobbin' for Bourbon

Oaxacan Holiday

The other two hot drinks; Bobbin’ for Bourbon (apple infused bourbon, raspberry rooibos tea, lemon) and Oaxacan Holiday (cocoa infused dark rum, creme de cacao, chocolate chili bitters, whipped cream, nutmeg) are perfect for the cooler nights. I particularly liked the Oaxacan Holiday. It was like spiked hot cocoa. I can just imagine these apre ski.

mushroom pizza

olive pizza

If you have time for a bite, try some of the pizzas. The mushroom and sage had a great cheese. I also liked the cheeseless olive one. It’d be a great one to share if you don’t want dairy. I also tried some charcuterie. Chef Kris Morningstar put up what he’s calling summer sausage to cure when Ray’s and Stark first opened and is now serving it. It was delicious.

venison with apple slices

 

We also tasted a terrine made with venison. Then it was covered with apple slices which accented the dish.

Night at the Museum

Park La Brea Power Lunch

 

Night at the Museum fortunately didn’t come with a side of Ben Stiller. Rather this cocktail features Caprock organic gin, Aperol, Lilet blanc and  fresh rose geranium. It and the Park La Brea Power Lunch (Calvados, Green Chartreuse, lemon, basil) were genteel drinks. Still, enough of these and you could have a madcap adventure around the museum.

(Far) East of Manhattan

 

I am a brown, bitters and stirred sort of cocktail chick and my ultimate favorite of the night was the (Far) East of Manhattan. The masala infused rye was mixed with Amaro Nonino, sweet vermouth and bitters. Perfect.

There are more new cocktails on the list but I’m saving them for another night.  The Original Swizzle sounds fantastic with mezcal, Campari, sherry, maraschino, agave and lemon. I also think the Green Dream with Scotch, Green Chartreuse and Carpano Antica vermouth will be great.

What cocktail would you like to try?

Ray’s & Stark Bar at LACMA

5905 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90036 – (323) 857-6180
 

November 1, 2011

LAFW: Lunch at Patina with Joachim Splichal, Jonathan Waxman and Daniel Boulud

Posted by the minty under dtla lunch, food, foodie alert, restaurant reviews, tasting menu, wine tasting | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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Jonathan Waxman, Joachim Splichal, Daniel Boulud

Have you ever been thrown in a foodie frenzy? On Friday, October 14 there were so many special lunches as part of the Los Angeles Food and Wine Festival that I had a hard time deciding where to go. I ultimately decided to stay in Downtown and head to the lunch hosted by Joachim Splichal at Patina with Jonathan Waxman and Daniel Boulud. Both these chefs were visiting from New York for LAFW.

Spaghetti with Dungeness Crab by Jonathan Waxman

Our lunch was paired with wine. The spaghetti with dungeness crab by Jonathan Waxman was paired with a 2009 Sandhi Chardonnay, Santa Rita Hills. I was pretty excited about this pasta as I love seafood and found the prawn to be a bonus.

crab delight

There was plenty of crab in this dish and I did enjoy the chardonnay with it. The wine complemented the flavors of the light but rich sauce.

Seasonal Vegetable Mosaic by Tony Esnault for Patina

Patina Executive Chef Tony Esnault sent out the Seasonal Vegetable Mosaic. At first we didn’t think much of it but each of the 14 different vegetables had its own flavors that ultimately made this the most remarked upon dish. Vegetables! It was paired with a pinot noir which also surprised me because I didn’t think to pair it with such but the savory stock really went well with the medium red.

This dish will be served again tomorrow as part of the Patina Alumni dinner.  Unfortunately the dinner is sold out but after party with oysters, pig and pinot is still available at Kendall’s ($30/person).

Roasted Guinea Hen by Daniel Boulud

Next up was Daniel Boulud’s roasted guinea hen. The dainty entree was the right portion for lunch. We savored this with 2007 Skylark/ Rodgers Creek Syrah, Sonoma Coast.

Warm Roasted Figs by Sarah Koechling for Patina

For dessert we had Patina Pastry Chef Sarah Koechling’s Warm Roasted Figs which was a panna cotta with pine nuts, nougatine and lemon sorbet. It was paired with 2010 Kunin Wines Late Harvest Viognier, Paradise Road Vineyard. I quite liked the gentle panna cotta. The day was particularly warm and it was an appropriate dessert for the day.

petit fours

It was quite the Patina Restaurant Group day for me. Later that evening, I would find myself at Kendall’s for a pre-theatre snack. I had the calamari. I enjoyed it while dreaming of another taste from these star chefs.

Patina Restaurant

141 S Grand Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90012 – (213) 972-3331
 

August 12, 2011

Ray’s & Stark Bar

Posted by the minty under art, cocktalian, dessert, food, hot bartenders, restaurant reviews | Tags: , , , , , |
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amuse bouche

One of the great pleasures of the summer is enjoying a night out at LACMA (the Los Angeles County Museum of Art). On Fridays, there’s live jazz in the courtyard and with the current Tim Burton exhibition, the museum is hopping. On top of that, the new Ray’s and Stark Bar with Chef Kris Morningstar (most recently from Mercantile and District) brings a new dining experience for museum goers.

I went last month to check out the on-going film series at LACMA. Before the film, we enjoyed dinner at Ray’s and then headed back to Stark Bar afterward for drinks.

Owl & Pussycat

I enjoyed one cocktail at dinner, the Owl & Pussycat (rum, lemon, simple syrup, strawberries, chilis) . The cocktail list is by “barsmith” Michel Dozois  whom I know from his Neve Ice company.

Owl & Pussycat - view of the ice

I just love the big block of ice. It kept the drink nice and cool without watering it down so much. The picture is as is- no tweaking, that color is brilliant! And the taste? Sweet like summer.

funghi agnolotti

squid with padron peppers

The menu at Ray’s constantly changes with what’s available. Quite a lot is grown on the premises. I would say the menu is Mediterranean influenced. We started with two appetizers to share. I immediately knew I wanted the squid with the padron peppers. My friend was persuaded by me to try the funghi agnolotti. The squid was so tender and went well with the vibrant peppers. It was instantly my favorite. Then I had the agnolotti and changed my mind that this was my favorite appetizer. The skin of the agnolotti was so thin and supple. I thought the hazelnuts in the dish were also great.

sea bream with mussels

halibut

I really liked eating with my friend because she chose all the things I would have ordered- seafood and more seafood. The mussels in her sea bream dish were beautiful. Such glossy shells.

My own halibut dish with mushrooms and sun chokes was just amazing with the rich buttery sauce. I was really happy with my dinner. I’d been before for lunch and thought it was fine (I had a salad and a sandwich then). Now I think this is where you should go when you have more time to linger. But we had to run to make our film.

house-made oreos

We were given the house-made oreos with our check. Ah! This is one of the reasons why I love Chef Kris! I adored those damn cookies at Mercantile and was so bummed when they stopped making them. I suppose the chef found his source for the chocolate again.

mint daiquiri

Presbyterian

Italian Stallion

After the show, plopped ourselves down at Stark Bar. They were offering cocktails from the special Jazz menu.

Mint Daiquiri- rum, lime, simple syrup, mint

Presbyterian-rye, ginger, lime

Italian Stallion- Scotch, Carpano Antica vermouth, Cynar

I liked all of them but my fave was the Italian Stallion. The daiquiri was very nice though on the patio.

I see myself cocktailing and arting it up here more often.

Ray’s & Stark Bar at LACMA

5905 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90036 – (323) 857-6180
 

June 13, 2011

City of Angels Wine Fest Recap

Posted by the minty under food, foodie alert, restaurant reviews, wine tasting | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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On Memorial Day, I went to the City of Angels Wine Fest presented by the Rotary Club of Los Angeles to benefit Volunteers of America and their commitment to helping the homeless transition to jobs.

Grilling at Nick & Stef's booth

Nick & Stef's beef

Chef Megan Logan pictured above grilling shrimp. Nick & Stef’s also gave out BBQ beef crostini.

Nick & Stef's shrimp

I was really kind of bummed to get only 4 tickets for food. It made deciding what to get very difficult. The shrimp was easily my favorite bite of the day.

meatballs from Zucca

Zucca was on hand with salad and meatballs. I opted to use one ticket on the meatballs.

Cafe Pinot

Cafe Pinot smoked trout

And then I used a ticket for the smoked trout from Cafe Pinot. I wish I had another ticket to try the panna cotta.

fried herring from Kendalls

Fortunately, I did have a guest and we ended up splitting our tickets to maximize our fooding. I really enjoyed these fried herrings from Kendalls. Mm, snacky fishies! I usually just go for a post-show drink at Kendalls after seeing something at the Music Center but now I’ll consider them for food as well.

Tina Tacos

I happen to go to the Music Center fairly frequently and invariably it’s a quick meal at the little cafe. But now I’m going to seriously consider Tina Tacos from now on. The short ribs tacos were very good. And I liked the look of the ceviche.

ceviche from Tina Tacos

short ribs tacos from Tina Tacos

Very juicy tacos!

entertainment at the Wine Fest

Besides all the wine (there was UNLIMITED wine!), we enjoyed some musical acts. This band from San Francisco was fun.

I saw someone walking around with their own cheese and charcuterie. They had bought the wine-only ticket and that might not be a bad way to go next time. Or at least supplement the food tickets. Of course, you could go the baller route and buy the VIP ticket next year for unlimited food and wine (and party in the Foundation Room!).

City of Angels Wine Fest

 

** Full Disclosure: I was invited to this event.

 

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